Expectations
by CuriousQuill
Summary: Rejected by her mother at birth and given a prophecy that wasn't even meant for her, Owlkit desperately tries to live up to the expectations of StarClan. But when a series of unexplained murders ruffles the fur of the many cats in the forest, Owlkit must face up to the growing dark presence that lurks in the Clans.
1. A Minor Inconvenience

**A/N: Good morning, evening, or afternoon my darlings! I know, I am a very bad person to be placing this story under a hiatus to re-write the Prologue and first chapter, but I was extremely displeased with my meager efforts. I completely re-did the Allegiances too, making them easier to keep track of. I hope you are pleased with the newly re-written Prologue of _Expectations_!**

**This is the longest prologue I have made for any fanfiction in my time on this website, and I have to say that I am exceedingly proud of it. I combined it with the original chapter one because it didn't fit with the rest of the story as it wasn't told from Cloverkit's - now Owlkit's - point of view. **

**By the way, this story was inspired by both Silent Steps in Silver Snow's fiction _What Could Have Been_, and also Brighteyes of ThunderClan's _Promise__._**

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Prologue

A MINOR INCONVENIENCE

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Night closed in around the dense forest, surrounding everything in a strangely confronting darkness. Tiny woodland creatures scuffled among the undergrowth. A light breeze rippled through the trees, twisting and turning between the leaves and branches, and whispering sweet nothings into the shadows. Leaf-bare never dared to enter here; the foliage stayed green all year 'round. Everything was as it should have been.

Almost.

There was something there. A horrible, dark something, tainting this glorious paradise like blood. It paced the cloudless skies, waiting for the right time to strike, waiting for its release, waiting, waiting ...

Deep in the middle of the forest, a solitary cat perched on the edge of a shimmering pool. Her dark gray fur glowed silver in the moonlight. Stars glittered in her pelt like sweet morning dew on the grass at dawn, and her amber eyes burned with a determined fire. She knew of the presence, and she knew it was waiting.

_What to do_, she pondered, the tip of her tail twitching nervously. Sleep had been difficult ever since she had found out about the prophecy; her usual sleek and unruffled appearance was marred by messy patches of fur here and there, as if she had been too worried to properly groom herself. Her whole demeanor was just as bad. She would snap at every little idiosyncrasy that bothered her, every little nitpick-y thing she could get her claws around.

For a moment, she was tempted to forget the whole thing; move on, return to her normal, peaceful ways. It wasn't as if the prophecy would be fulfilled anyway. With the recent information she had gathered, she had been fearing the worst. The Clans would succumb to blood and sickness, and all this she-cat had given to her Clan would be destroyed. That would be the end. Nothing would be left. Absolutely nothing. Her head throbbed from all the thinking and worrying she had burdened herself with. She touched her nose to the water that lapped at her paws, as if searching for calmness in the glowing depths. It was like coming into contact with liquid starlight; cold as ice, but burned like the hottest fire imaginable. She remembered the first time she had felt this water, all those moons ago in the form of a magical stone at the back of a dank tunnel, when there was no prophecy to worry about.

The snapping of twigs jolted the she-cat out of her musings. She peered over her left shoulder, just enough for one eye to catch any movement in the undergrowth. A hawthorn bush, not five tail lengths away, shuddered savagely. She already knew who was coming, but she continued to watch the bushes. A familiar face was exactly what she needed. Everything was too ... foreign; too unwelcoming.

The thorny limbs of a bramble thicket parted to reveal a magnificent tom-cat. His shoulders rippled with well-toned muscle as he prowled towards the she-cat in a lion-like manner. His pelt was nightblack, only broken by the thin strip of white that crossed his face diagonally in a jagged line. His bright blue eyes gleamed with the wisdom of a thousand warriors. He settled himself beside the first cat, his shoulders reaching up to her muzzle.

"Well, Stormheart?" He asked, in a deep, resonating voice, "You asked for me, and I have come. What is troubling you, dear sister?"

Stormheart didn't respond at first, but purred and rubbed her head against the tom's shoulder, glad for his company. The tom returned the joyful gesture by rasping his tongue comfortingly between her ears; a sign of trust and a sibling bond that had formed after many moons of working together.

"I have been worried, Lightningstar," Stormheart meowed at last, after the display of affection. "I have been having visions. The time of the prophecy is almost upon us." She flicked her tail towards the pool, "But there is a grave issue I must speak to you about; that is why I have requested your presence."

Lightningstar chuckled quietly, "Whenever something worries you, Stormheart, it means that Fawnspots used poppyseed instead of thyme for shock. I'm sure it's nothing serious." His attention flitted from his sister to the pool. "Is there any reason why you chose to meet here, of all places?"

"I-I want to show you something." Stormheart murmured, eyes half closed. She waved her tabby tail over the surface of the pool, the tip just touching the center. Rings the size of acorns rippled outwards, growing bigger until they hit the grass with a soft _thwap_. The circles soon cleared, revealing a faint, fuzzy image. It gradually grew sharper, revealing a scene from where this part of StarClan watched over with great care: the ThunderClan nursery.

A pregnant queen lay on her side in a thick nest of moss, her chest heaving with great effort. Her white flanks were coated in dark perspiration, dry and moist, as she strained to bring life to her kits. Pieces of bracken were shredded and strewn about on the dirt floor. A second cat crouched next to her, a paw placed on her distended belly. Her neck fur was equally as sweaty and her green eyes were wide and fretful. The she-cat opened her jaws into a soundless wail, too exhausted to cry out in pain. The image withheld for a few heartbeats before vanishing, leaving the two cats to gaze at the clear pool once again.

Lightningstar turned his perplexed stare onto Stormheart, who sat like a stone. "Is this what your worried about? A queen is having her first litter of kits. It is the beginning of life for new warriors. There is nothing to be afraid of." He pushed his muzzle against her cheek to make a point.

Stormheart shrugged her brother away, gazing into the dark of the forest, looking at everything and nothing. "That is the mother of the kit in the prophecy," she stated, her mew seemingly mono-toned, "The one who will save the Clans from a battle so bloody it might even give _you_ nightmares." She teasingly flicked him with her tail, but regained her seriousness almost immediately. She sensed her brother wasn't entirely getting the gist of the whole story.

Lightningstar gave uninterested shrug and rolled his blue eyes in slight exasperation. "I don't see any problems. Look, Stormheart, you can at least make it worth my while when you ask me to speak with you."

That stung. Stormheart recoiled, as if Lightningstar had suddenly started to smell bad. "Your brain is full of thistles," she hissed in annoyance, "Lightningstar, that kit is going to _die_. The prophecy will forever remain unsolved, and the forest will be placed at the paws of that ... that _tyrant_." She shuddered for emphasis, and Lightningstar brushed his pelt up against hers. The fur on the back of his neck bristled in fear, but when he next spoke, he kept his voice level.

"Then we can do nothing." He said solemnly, "We are nothing but memories, now; stories to entertain kits." He shook his head, the white mark become a blue for a moment, "We must prepare for more of our loved ones to join us in StarClan."

Stormheart chocked back a cry of horror and disbelief, then buried her face into her brother's chest, quietly starting to sob. Lightningstar bent his head over and nuzzled Stormheart on the back of her head, breathing in the scent of herbs that always hung around her.

"Is there another option?"

Stormheart blinked back tears and lifted her head. Her throat was raw with regret and her eyes burned in sorrow. "S-she has a sister." She sniffed.

Lightningstar straightened, looking his usual noble self again. "Then we must pass the prophecy onto her. She is our only chance."

The dark tabby snickered spitefully through her despair. "She will never be as intelligent, or as brave, or as great as her sister would have been."

"But with her, there is hope."

Stormheart rose on shaky paws, a mixture of malice and morose glistened in her amber gaze. "Hope is nothing without its savior."

* * *

Rain lashed the thick canopy of trees, dripping down past the branches and onto the damp earth, where it pooled around the roots of an old beech tree. A harsh, bitterly cold wind swept through the forest, accompanied by the sights and sounds of a leaf-fall storm; thunder rolled across the cloudy sky, matched with the occasional frosty strike of lightning.

Two tom cats hunched outside a prickly bramble wall; one was a massive black-and-white cat, the other a slightly smaller tabby. Their backs were firmly against the thickly woven walls. They tipped their heads down in effort to keep out the rain, but it did not do much good. Water dripped down their drooping whiskers and onto their already soaking paws. A haunting shriek emulated from the thorny barricade, causing one of the night guards to shudder with discomfort. His companion glanced at him with narrowed yellow eyes.

Inside the protected gully, tensions rubbed against each other, causing static and apprehension. A small group of warriors - although it was the middle of the night - were awake, situated under the aegis of a hawthorn bush, watching an anxious tom-cat pace the bare, muddy clearing. His patched tabby pelt was slicked down with the wet, his rib cage faintly showing through his wet fur. Thick puffs of steam rose from his mouth as he padded back and forth across the clearing, one paw in front of another.

"Adderstrike!" A she-cat called from the gathered cats, "Come out of the wretched downpour at once! Pacing won't make Frostberry's kits come any faster." Her meow was tinged with worry, and Adderstrike new she meant well, but he just shook his head and continued his traipse from one end of the camp to other.

A dark shape shot away from a bramble thicket, ears flat to its head. It pelted across the ravine and slipped through a tight crack in a large boulder that was settled at the edge of the camp. Adderstrike paused. He twitched an ear before following the figure, his long strides eating up the ground. The cat was just about to exit the medicine den, a bunch of dark green leaves clamped in her jaws, when Adderstrike blocked the entrance, his lips drawn back in a menacing snarl.

"Well, Fawnspots?" He growled,fangs glinting as a fork of lightning cracked across the sky, "Is she okay? Will she make it?"

Fawnspots hissed at the tom in withheld frustration, "Of course she will, mousebrain! She is a strong, healthy cat. Everything will be perfectly fine. Now _kindly _let me deliver this Raspberry to her, you arrogant fox!"

Adderstrike narrowed his eyes. His amber gaze gleamed like fire. Fawnspots shrank back slightly, preparing herself for a blow to the face. She knew that any tom in his right mind would never harm a cat that was helping his mate kit; at least, she hoped that was the case with Adderstrike. Without another word, she shoved her way past the dark warrior and disappeared back into the nursery.

Adderstrike let his back end fall to the ground with a faint squelch, his stare gaunt. It was unbelievable that a powerful tom like him could succumb to potentially harming the Clan's medicine cat for the sake of his mate and unborn kits. On the battlefield, his was a force to be reckoned with. But now, as he struggled to accept his new status as a father ... well, the thought hadn't quiet sunk in yet.

He felt a soft stroking motion along his spine, and he turned his head slightly. The she-cat who had called to him earlier was sitting beside him, her blue eyes full of warmth and amused concern. Her pelt glowed in the stormy night, the cloud-like patches like freshly fallen snow.

"There is nothing to worry about," she meowed, laying her tail over the tom's broad shoulders, "My sister is strong. She has wanted to be a mother for the longest time possible. She won't give that dream up in a hurry!" A soft giggle escaped her dainty pink tongue.

"But ... problems happen all the time, Silvercloud!" Adderstrike wailed, "Kits are stillborn, mothers die from loss of blood. It is not wrong for me to worry at least a little bit?" He sank into the mud, covering his face with his paws, "What ... what if I'm a terrible father? What is I can't protect my mate and kits from all those dangers in the forest?" He glanced up at Silvercloud, and she purred at his helplessness.

"You are the perfect father. You've had a lot of practice, especially with Firepaw. Look how much trouble he's given you and you're only a moon into training." Silvercloud murmured, giving Adderstrike a reassuring lick on the ear. Her gaze was averted for a moment before a smile played on her face, "Ah, look. Here comes Fawnspots now."

The black she-cat trotted towards the pair of warriors, her tail flicking back and forth gaily. She gave Adderstrike a hearty shove, nearly making him topple over, despite the tom being a good mouse-length taller than her. She seemd to have forgotten his attempts of barricading her in the medicine den.

"Congratulations, you're officially a father." She meowed happily, "You have two beautiful daughters. Come and see."

Adderstrike cautiously got to his paws, legs wobbling slightly. He followed Fawnspots across the gully towards the nursery. The rain had cleared and the sun just peaked over the horizon, shedding blood-red sunlight onto Adderstrike's pelt. He arched his back in a graceful stretch, feeling the warmth seep into his soaked fur. It was a new day. Everything was as it should be.

Fawnspots flicked him with her tail and signalled to him that he was allowed to go into the thicket. The entrance was small, and it took a small amount of effort for the warrior to finally squeeze through. He was greeted with a sweet, milky smell and the soft mewling of dreaming kittens. To one side, a tortoiseshell queen dozed in her nest, her swollen belly rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

A beautiful white she-cat lay nestled near the back of the nursery. Her fur was matted and damp from the ordeal, and her eyes were closed from exhaustion. But her face registered something entirely different; it was pure, undying love. Love for her mate, kits, and Clan. Adderstrike croaked out a throaty purr and nuzzled his mate between the ears.

"How do you feel?" He murmured, breathing in her sweet scent. She licked him on the muzzle gratefully.

"Tired, but pleased." She meowed, cracking her eyes open. After staring at Adderstrike for a moment, she cuffed him playfully around the ear, "Mousebrain, you're filthy."

Adderstrike took in his scruffy pelt; it was crusted with dried mud and stuck out like a porcupine's bristles. He glanced sheepishly at the white queen, "I had a ... bit of a meltdown, I suppose."

Frostberry rolled her eyes and gazed proudly down at her tiny daughters, nestled into her milk-warm belly. Their ears were flat to their heads and their eyes were squeezed tightly shut. Their tiny paws kneaded their mother's underside, and their tails squirmed back and forth.

"What shall we name them?" Frostberry prompted Adderstrike. He pondered the appearances of both kits; one was a light gray-brown color, her pelt sliced through with tabby markings. Only her paws and throat suggested any association with her mother. The other - her sister - was a tiny tortoiseshell, her fur patterned with ginger, brown, and black.

"This one shall be Owlkit." Adderstrike announced, nuzzling the tabby on the back of her neck. She mewled in annoyance before latching herself on her mother's belly again. _She is already a fighter_, Adderstrike realized. His eyes crinkled up at the edges as he smiled gleefully down at his daughter.

"Her sister shall be Spottedkit." Frostberry decided, indicating the tortoiseshell with her tail.

"Beautiful names for beautiful daughters." Adderstrike agreed, bending down to rasp his tongue along her spine. He was halfway up her neck when something made him stop dead. He felt as if his heart and shattered in two and had pierced his chest with its shards. No, it couldn't be ...

The kit's fur was ice cold.

Frostberry sensed something was wrong. She lowered her muzzle to sniff Spottedkit, but faltered at the chill of her daughter's skin. Horror clouded her gaze as she stared at Adderstrike. He nodded, his tail drooping sullenly. Frostberry opened her jaws into a chilling cry that seemed to resonate within StarClan itself. Fawnspots was with the pair within heartbeats, chest heaving and eyes concerned.

"What on earth is the matter?"She wheezed harshly. She observed the two kittens at Frostberry's side. Both seemed healthy - they had been before she left the den. The she noticed: Spottedkit wasn't even twitching the tip of her tail. Fawnspots dipped her head, a wave of emotion buffeting at her insides, clawing at her throat.

"I'm sorry," she rasped, "But she's gone."

Frostberry's throat convulsed, and a strange suffocated noise escaped her. Although extremely fatigued, she rose and limped to entrance of the nursery, her expression eerily blank. With great poise she slipped from the hole. Once outside, she regarded the now steadily rising sun with a fierce stare before collapsing to the earth. Adderstrike squeezed through the entrance and pressed up against his mate, feeling the rapidly flourishing grief that leaked from her pelt.

"Why StarClan, WHY?" Frostberry howled, "This was my first litter, my first chance at being a mother. This was supposed to be PERFECT!" She submerged her muzzle into Adderstrike's chest and started to sob uncontrollably, her body shuddering with her lamentations. Adderstrike desperately attempted to comfort her, but she could not be swayed. Even he felt the bleakness crawl into his chest, feeling out every crack and crevice, transforming his heart to ice. Spottedkit was gone; StarClan would take care of her now.

All the while, Owlkit had been forgotten among the all the heartache. She squirmed impatiently as she was dislodged from her mother's belly once more. Adderstrike heard the ignorant squeak even with Frostberry weeping into his fur. He absentmindedly gave his mate a lick on the ear and padded to the nursery, his body almost not his. Was this his inner paternal instinct acting up? He had placed one paw inside the thicket before Frostberry let out and angry hiss behind him.

"You're not actually going to _comfort_ the thing, are you?" She snarled. Adderstrike whirled around, hardly believing his ears. The immense hatred that flashed through her eyes took him by complete surprise. "She stole Spottedkit's life just so she could be an only child ... so she wouldn't have to share a mother's love! The ungrateful piece of mouseflesh should never have been born!" Flecks of froth gathered at the corners of her mouth, giving her the appearance of a rabid dog. Even the whites of her eyes were showing, which were bloodshot from fatigue and fury. She whipped around, smacking Adderstrike across the muzzle with her tail.

"I'm going to sleep in the Warriors den. Don't try and stop me." She spat. Adderstrike blinked and glimpsed the last of her tail disappearing under the hawthorn bush. He dropped his head, his misery at last catching up to him. Frostberry was one of the sweetest cats he knew, save for Fawnspots, and she had the nerve to turn away her daughter away just because her sister had died. It was unbelievable.

Adderstrike thought back to when he was worried about his kits or Frostberry dying. He had been struck down by worry and didn't think he would see either of his kits alive. But now all that mattered was for Owlkit to survive. It wouldn't do him or Frostberry any good for both their daughters to pass on to StarClan.

Fawnspots brushed Adderstrike's shoulder with her own, her gaze hollow. "I-I didn't think she'd do something like that ... I didn't think she could be so horrible." Her claws sank into the earth, "This is the first kit I have lost since Wheatfeather passed on."

The dark tabby touched his nose to the medicine cat's ear, "You did what you could. Its the first kit I have lost as well." He sighed, twitching his tabby tail, "I never knew she could be so cruel either."

Fawnspots padded towards the boulder once more, this time without her usual sense of urgency. "I'm going to give her some poppyseed and parsley, to dry up her milk." She tossed over her shoulder, "Owlkit will have to feed from Tawnyleap until she can have freshkill."

Adderstrike watched her go, and emptiness forming in his belly. He wheeled around and slithered through the nursery opening, his fur catching on the brambles. Owlkit was still mewling in her empty nest, and Spottedkit's body lay quiet still next to her. Adderstrike curled around the two baby daughters, knowing he could only warm one. Owlkit snuggled up to his soft underbelly fur. Adderstrike nosed her until she had found a comfortable position. Then he lay his chin atop his paws and prayed with all his might to StarClan.

_Starflecked ones of the great hunting grounds, please let this kit be loved. I will do everything within my power to make sure is kept safe. Surely that must count for something?_

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**A/N: There you have it. The polished version of the original Prologue and Chapter One combined. I felt as if the characters I hab been using were too shallow, so I decided to become a little more adventurous with them. Please R&R, and I will release Chaoter One as soon as possible.**


	2. Author's Note

**I have decided to remove this story from Fanfiction for the time being. It's not because I dislike it, but it is because I have lost the drive. I will come back to it someday, but that will have to wait for another time.**


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